East Alton prepping for another road project, this time Berkshire Boulevard

East Alton prepping for another road project, this time Berkshire Boulevard

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EAST ALTON — Another year, another major street project for the village of East Alton.

At its Feb. 6 meeting, the village board made plans for work to be done this summer on Berkshire Boulevard, the latest in a string of thoroughfares to get a facelift with the help of federal and county funds. At the meeting, the board approved three resolutions dealing with easements and agreements related to the project.

The work will include patching and street overlay, as well as work to the sidewalks and curbs along the road. East Alton Mayor Joe Silkwood estimated bids for the work would go out this spring, with work anticipated to be done this summer.

Of the roughly $560,000 project, 75 percent, or approximately $307,500, will be paid for through federal Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds, which are administered by the state by way of the Federal Highway Administration. The other $102,500 is being provided by Madison County.

East Alton paid roughly $88,000 for design engineering for the project, and another estimated $62,000 will be paid for construction engineering. The village’s Motor Fuel Tax fund will cover both costs.

Motor Fuel Tax funds, which are distributed to municipalities by the state, have a number of different uses, including purchasing salt, stoplight repairs, patching potholes and sidewalk repairs, but Silkwood said being able to do a half-million dollar project without putting any burden back on the taxpayers was an “efficient” use of the money.

“There’s a lot of uses for the Motor Fuel Tax money. We try to prioritize what affects the most people,” Silkwood said. “The main drags affect the most people.”

The undertaking is the third such project for the village in recent years. Two years ago, Shamrock Avenue was the beneficiary; last year, East Alton Avenue was done.

The Berkshire Boulevard work has been on the books for about four years, Silkwood said. Next year, the village will turn its focus to Franklin Avenue. Preliminary work and design engineering have already begun on that project, according to Silkwood.

With remaining MFT funds, Silkwood said the village will also restart its residential road program this year. Small sections of town will be worked on, with priority based on cost and need, for the next two years, until MFT funds are freed up for large-scale residential roadwork to be done in 2020.